The present application relates to magnetic resonance imaging systems, apparatus and procedures and, in particular, to apparatus and procedures for immobilizing a portion of a patient's anatomy during imaging.
In magnetic resonance imaging, an object to be imaged as, for example, a body of a human subject is exposed to a strong, substantially constant static magnetic field. The static magnetic field causes the spin vectors of certain atomic nuclei within the body to randomly rotate or “precess” around an axis parallel to the direction of the static magnetic field. Radio frequency excitation energy is applied to the body, and this energy causes the nuclei to “precess” in phase and in an excited state. As the precessing atomic nuclei relax, weak radio frequency signals are emitted; such radio frequency signals are referred to herein as magnetic resonance signals.
Different tissues produce different signal characteristics. Furthermore, relaxation times are a dominant factor in determining signal strength. In addition, tissues having a high density of certain nuclei will produce stronger signals than tissues with a low density of such nuclei. Relatively small gradients in the magnetic field are superimposed on the static magnetic field at various times during the process so that magnetic resonance signals from different portions of the patient's body differ in phase and/or frequency. If the process is repeated numerous times using different combinations of gradients, the signals from the various repetitions together provide enough information to form a map of signal characteristics versus location within the body. Such a map can be reconstructed by conventional techniques well known in the magnetic resonance imaging art, and can be displayed as a pictorial image of the tissues as known in the art.
The magnetic resonance imaging technique offers numerous advantages over other imaging techniques. MRI does not expose either the patient or medical personnel to X-rays and offers important safety advantages. Also, magnetic resonance imaging can obtain images of soft tissues and other features within the body which are not readily visualized using other imaging techniques. Accordingly, magnetic resonance imaging has been widely adopted in the medical and allied arts.
Many conventional magnetic resonance imaging instruments require that a patient lie on a horizontal bed that is then advanced into a tubular bore within a super-conducting solenoidal magnet used to generate the static magnetic field. Other conventional MRI imaging instruments use a magnet having a ferromagnetic frame defining a patient-receiving space. Considerable effort has been devoted to design of such magnets in a manner which provides a relatively open patient-receiving space, as opposed to the claustrophobic tubular bore of the conventional solenoidal magnet. However, in these instruments as well, it has been the common practice to image the patient on a bed that remains horizontal throughout the procedure.
Advancement in magnetic resonance imaging has resulted in imaging apparatus that supports a patient in any position between a vertical position and a horizontal position. As described in greater detail in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,414,490 and 6,677,753, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference herein, a magnetic resonance imaging system can be provided with a patient support, such as a bed or table, which can extend in a generally vertical direction so that the long axis of the patient is substantially vertical. For example, the patient may be in a standing posture, with his back, side or front leaning against a generally vertical patient support. Such a support may include a footrest projecting from the table at its lower end and the patient may stand on the footrest. In other arrangements, the support includes a seat projecting from the table so that the seat is in a horizontal plane when the table surface is vertical. In particularly preferred arrangements, the patient support can move relative to the magnet. For example, the patient support may be arranged to move vertically relative to the magnet so as to elevate a portion of the patient into the patient-receiving space of the magnet. Alternatively or additionally, the patient support may be arranged to tilt through a range of orientations between a generally horizontal orientation and a generally vertical orientation.
The position of a patient during magnetic resonance imaging may affect or limit the imaging information obtained. A patient may exhibit a symptom if oriented in an upright or weight bearing position and no symptom if oriented in a recumbent or horizontal position. For example, it may be necessary to image a patient in an upright or gravity bearing position to discern a symptom and provide a diagnosis for injuries relating to, for example, the neck, spine, hip, knee, foot or ankle areas of the anatomy.
In addition to a patient's position, movement by a patient during imaging may also affect the images obtained. In fact, magnetic resonance imaging procedures generally require the patient to remain perfectly still during imaging. Movement by a patient typically results in motion artifacts appearing in the image. This often results in rescanning, which reduces the throughput of the imaging system.
There are many factors that contribute to movement on the part of a patient. For example, a patient positioned in a weight-bearing upright posture may find it more difficult to remain still during imaging. In addition, the anxiety level of a patient may affect how still a patient remains during imaging. In general, those magnets that place the patient in the bore of the magnet during imaging tend to add to the patient's anxiety level because of the closed-in and tight environs. A more relaxed patient tends to move less during imaging. Even when relaxed, the patient may not be able to keep still depending on their age, the portion of anatomy of interest (e.g., the spine or shoulder) or the degree of pain that they may be experiencing.
Of utility then are methods ands systems that address these needs and provide ways of better immobilizing a patient during an MRI scan.